TNT Reaches for the Moon

Home Box Office has sold another of its prized productions into syndication. The pay network cut a deal with corporate cousin Turner Network Television for repeats of miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. The 12-hour series will debut on TNT Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. and run as a marathon throughout the weekend. TNT will follow up with future plays.

The Turner net is said to be paying between $400,000 and $500,000 per hour for the series, according to insiders.

The History Channel plunked down about $750,000 an hour last year for HBO's Band of Brothers and it looks to have been a good buy. The series debuted on History in April to stellar ratings, including a hefty 4.6 million viewers tuning in for the first episode.

From Earth to the Moon debuted on HBO in 1998 and earned an Emmy for top miniseries.

Executive produced by Tom Hanks, the series traces the history of the Apollo space program.